


the art of mending a broken heart

by ladeedadaday



Category: Hatchetfield Universe - Team StarKid
Genre: Child Abuse, F/M, Fighting, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:13:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29448333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladeedadaday/pseuds/ladeedadaday
Relationships: Hannah Foster & Lex Foster, Lex Foster/Ethan Green
Kudos: 4





	the art of mending a broken heart

**lex <3:** i cant do this anymore

**lex <3:** i cant fucking stand it here

**lex <3:** i cant do this to hannah its not fair to her

**me:** okay, calm dow n 4 me okay?

**me:** can u tell me whats going n on?

**lex <3: **mom

**lex <3:** weve been screaming at eachother for like an hour 

**lex <3:** and i managed to get duke to watch hannah for a little bit so she doesnt have to here anything

**me:** do u want me to come pick u up and get u out of their?

**lex <3:** i cant put that on you

**me:** babe im ur boyfrined lemme help u

⋆⋆⋆

I put down my phone, running a hand through my hair, sitting down on one of the shitty, shaky stool in the kitchen. I inhale, grasping at my throat softly, it's in pain from all the screaming I've been doing. My pants are ripped, which I'll later play off as intentional. There's a pretty bad cut on my hand from a broken bottle that my attempted - and clearly failed - to catch. And yet I still feels guilty even thinking about asking Ethan for help.

"Fucking slut, just tell me where the money is, it's not worth it to lie to me." My mother growls, pushing me off the stool, ultimately snapping the stool leg. "Look what you did!" 

"I didn't fucking do anything. I don't have the fucking money, I don't even know what you're talking about!" I'm at the point where I just want to give up. I want it all to stop. I just want to die. But I can't. Because Hannah needs me, that would break her. But would anyone else care? I doubt it. "Just leave me alone." I say, getting up from the floor, walking to my room, shutting the door as fast as humanly possible. 

I don't know what to do. So, I do what I'm best at. Running away from my problems. I stuff a small backpack with everything I own, the California-fund, everything I can fit. And I jump out the window, and just run. 

My hair whips behind me, it's my favorite feeling. It's dark outside, there'd be stars if it wasn't for fucking pollution. I can see the moon, but only barely. My shoes click against the cracked pavement, scratching as I run over a bit of gravel. It's a beautiful feeling, this feeling of escaping and freedom. I know I'm not truly free, not yet. But someday, this will be all I feel, and I can't fucking wait. 

I don't know where I'm going, and somehow, that makes it better. I splash through a puddle in the street, and the water on my leg lets me snap back to reality and I notice that I'm downtown. Beanies is right across the street, and I spot Emma through the window, so I head in. Emma's always been really sweet to Hannah and I. I sometimes go out on dates with Ethan there, and Emma keeps Hannah entertained so we can have time alone without leaving Hannah with Mom. When I went to school, Emma gave me free coffee all throughout finals week.

She smiles when she sees me, waving for me to come over and sit down at the counter. "You look horrible," She says, bluntly. I know I do. Jeans wet and ripped, blood smeared all over my shirt, dry blood on my hand. "And sad. What's going on?"

I shake my head, "I'm fine." It's a lie, and we both know it. "I need to get drunk." I pull out my phone to shoot Ethan a quick text.

"Unfortunately, we don't do that here, sweetheart. You want the 'Death Wish Coffee'?" I nod. 

**me:** hey babe would you mind picking up hannah from dukes?

**eth <3:** oh i got it dw 

**me:** ugh i love you so much 

**eth <3:** i love u to

"Ooh, who're you texting?" Emma teases, shimmying her shoulders. I roll my eyes and flip her off, putting my phone back into my pocket. "Alright, fine. Don't tell me." She hands over the coffee, and I ruffle around in my pocket and slap a couple crumpled dollar bills onto the counter. "Oh, no, no, it's on me. You keep saving for Cali." 

I smile, but can't help but feel a little bit bad about it. My phone vibrates in my backpack. 

**eth <3:** im gonna take bannana to beenies is it okay 2 give her a borwnie?

**me:** im at beanies you can bring her if you want

**eth <3:** alrighty!

**eth <3:** i gotta go work at the shop l8er so if u wanna come with u can

"Ethan and Banana are comin'." Emma just nods, and I figure it's about time to stop bothering her and start figuring out what the fuck I'm gonna do with my life. 

_End it._ The teasing voice in my head whispers. _Fuck off._ I tell it. But I consider it. And then I snap out of it again, remembering that I need to take care of Hannah. And I need to escape Hatchetfield. I just refuse to die in Hatchetfield. Or in fucking Clivesdale. The front left part of my head is starting to hurt. I massage my temples, I heard somewhere that might help. It doesn't. So I chug as much of the coffee as I can in one gulp. The bell dings, and it's much louder now than it normally is. 

I feel a hand on my waist and I'm just about ready to punch someone when I realize who's actually touching me. "Hey, babe, you doin' alright?" I shrug, yawning. "Lex, 'Death Wish Coffee'? What's goin' on?" I'm about to fucking snap if anyone asks me that again. I rest my head on his shoulder once he sits down next to me. Hannah hasn't said anything yet, instead just opting to observe and people watch.

"Hey, Ethan, Hannah, what can I get you guys?" Emma asks, wiping off the counter and taking my empty cup. 

Ethan thinks for a moment and then says, "An iced caramel macchiato." Emma nods. Once Emma's turned away, Ethan whispers to me. "I think we need to talk tonight." Which only adds infinitely more stress on top of everything else. 

"I could get Grace to babysit." I offer.

Ethan nods, but Hannah has a different plan. "I don't wanna go with Grace." Which... was new. She'd never talked back to me like this before. I guess I should've expected it, she is a teenager now after all. "You never trust me to be by myself. I'm only a little younger than you are!" I know she's right. Well, not about the age thing. But she's right. 

But I'm also a stubborn bitch. "It's just to protect you. I don't want you getting hurt." Which is true, I'd die before letting Hannah get hurt. But she's smart enough to realize it's not only that.

⋆⋆⋆

Ethan closes his bedroom door, sitting down next to me on the bed. "What the fuck happened to you today?" I don't want to say it. I really don't. I don't want to admit half the shit she's done to me. "Babe?" 

I want to answer him, but it's gonna take me approximately fifteen more seconds to muster up the willpower to make myself explain it. "Just... mom and I got into a bad fight. That's it." That's all he needs to know. He runs his fingers gently over the dry blood on my hand, squinting his eyes. 

"Dad might know how to clean this." I sigh. I don't think Ethan's dad exactly likes me. And I don't blame him. Ethan deserves much better than trailer trash. But - for whatever reason - he chose me. "We could ask Mr. Houston, maybe."

I shrug. "Or, we could just not bother anybody and leave it alone. Mr. Houston doesn't need to know." He gives me a pointed look, one that he always gives me if I get in trouble with Frank or if there's something I won't tell him. To be quite honest, I just don't want any more authority figures getting involved in my life. "Can we do something else?" Something else other than talking about my tragedy of a life. 

He nods, although reluctantly. "You want a cig?" He offers, reaching into his pocket for his lighter.

"Fuck yes." He hands me the cigarette and lights it for me. I know it's bad for me, but at the rate my life is going, I'm dead soon either way. "God, I love you." Ethan doesn't respond, just turns on his playlist. 

> _"Never wanna stand up for myself,_   
>  _Never wanna get in the way, I said it,"_

"I would do anything for you." I say out loud, and not just because of the title of the song. He blows his smoke in my face. I roll my eyes, waving it away with my hand. He pulls me closer, our hips touching, his hand slung around my waist lazily. "I can't wait until we get out of here." Just... being out of Hatchetfield would make everything better. 

We sit in silence until then end of the song. "Do you know what happiness feels like?" I don't know if I do. I've probably felt it once, maybe when I was little, or maybe seeing Hannah be happy with her birthday gift. I think he can tell by my silence that I don't remember it. "I'm gonna give you happiness one day." And I believe him. Because he's never given me a reason to not believe him. "You wanna go on a date?" My first immediate thought is, 'Nope. Hannah.' But Tony wouldn't let her get hurt, even if he doesn't like me. He's still a dad.

"Can we just go to the park and smoke or something? Or does it have to be fancy?" I wonder out loud. "Cause I'd rather just be hanging out with you rather than, like, fuckin' - I dunno." 

He pulls on my jacket. "Let's just drive."


End file.
